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Wed, 17 Jul 2024 12:30:12 GMT

My book came out a few weeks ago and – honestly – the hardest part to write was the Acknowledgements. Now that the book is printed and it costs £100+, I'm kinda sad that no one will ever read them. So here they are, in all their sappy glory:

Acknowledgements: This book, like any, has been a journey. It exists thanks to so many people and despite many others. Not knowing where to start, let me begin with my partner in British New Testament crime, Michelle Fletcher.

Her constant optimism and desperate attempts to keep in me in academia have kept me sane. She also let me constantly bounce ideas off her, to see what works and what doesn't.

If it wasn't for Sara Parks I would also have left academia years ago. She has been a constant cheerleader and friend, and I'm still upset that she left the UK.

The third member of this holy trinity is Meredith Warren (@drmjcwarren.bsky.social), for her unconditional belief in me, her tireless letter-writing when I applied for yet another job, and her tactful avoidance in asking if I ever heard anything back.

This project has been long, and many people contributed to it. I must start by thanking Kelsie Rodenbiker (@kelsbot.bsky.social) for reading drafts of most of this book and giving me highly constructive feedback!

And, Aulikki Nahkola proofread all my references, and apparently enjoyed the task. But, as in all academic projects, most of the labour remains invisible. Throughout this work, I have tried to make it visible by naming those that contributed (see the footnotes), but

scores still remain nameless. I cannot, for instance, remember who asked the amazing question at the British New Testament Society that spawned the epilogue to this book. I also no longer have any idea who suggested the Christmas stable for Chapter 5 at the

Tracing Global Christianity in Late Antiquity conference. And, of course I must thank my anonymous peer reviewer, who really went out of their way to make this book much better. The list goes on. Thank you all! Hopefully you know who you are.

I want to thank my many communities. The editorial team at the Journal for Interdisciplinary Biblical Studies (@jibs-journal.bsky.social) has been a constant source of joy and support.

I've taken so much from the frequent chats with Meredith Warren (@drmjcwarren.bsky.social) (again!) and Eric Vanden Eykel (@evandeneykel.bsky.social). I treasure the messages of support, the teamwork and the covering for each other when life invariably happened.

Thank you to the people taking part in the Bible, Critical Theory and Reception seminars, and to James Crossley and John Lyons (@jlyons1991.bsky.social) for organizing these. You risked bodily harm by allowing me to present on My Little Pony fans in a Birmingham pub.

More importantly, you gave me many good and supportive contributions that helped me shape this project.

To my queer friends at SDA Kinship, who welcomed a scholar rejected by their church into a warm community when I needed it most: Catherine Taylor, Ruud Kieboom, Floyd Poenitz, Kees Meiling, Frieder & Ingrid Schmid, and the other new friends I made there -

I love you guys! We all matter, even if the Adventist church doesn't seem to think so.

*Diolch* to my colleagues at Pride Cymru, who let me join in their fight for LGBTQ+ rights in Wales for an (all too) little while. I'm sad to have left you, especially my 'workfriend' Emma Jones, and the best boss you'll ever have, Cath Harrison;

my newer colleagues, Felicity McKee, always sharing amazing insights into histories of disability, and Patsy Hudson. Remember, dear reader, that trans rights are human rights.

Thanks to my former roommates from Cardiff who are now spread out over the world: Marija Grech, Chris Muller, Megen Molé. Playing Pandemic over Zoom is still the best way to spend a Sunday morning. I still don't know what y'all mean with critical posthumanism

To my former colleagues at Newbold who, like me, became disenfranchised while I was writing this book: I am glad that three years later, our WhatsApp group is still called 'Workers unite!'

Aulikki Nahkola (who went from former teacher, to colleague, to a treasured friend), one day I will join you birding. Julian Thompson, I wish we had worked together longer, and I want to talk a lot more about orality and folklore with you.

*Bedankt* to my new colleagues at Radboud University who have made me feel extremely welcome as I joined them in the final stages of this project: Justine Bakker, Seth Bledsoe, Carly Crouch, Matthijs den Dulk, Mike Kochenash (@mkochenash.bsky.social), Annet den Haan.

I've had far too many amazing students to name them all here, but you know who you are. You welcomed me into your life and trusted me to help you find your voice and your fight.

In return, you pushed me to reconsider my opinions, my voice and my privilege. Keep shouting loud, your voices are important.

My family grew during this project: my absolute bestest sibling-in-law Kaity married the amazing Dan Stewart. Stupid COVID kept me from the wedding, but their queer love and quirky texts kept me going through some dark days.

My family also shrank: I can no longer thank my fabulous cousin Mark who passed away last year. Of course, family always stays the same-ish. I am always thankful to my extremely supportive parents,

who get very angry with people who are horrible to me and who seem to think everything I do is absolutely amazing. Both of those things are highly necessary.

Finally, theres the insanely supportive community of friends in and outside scholarship. Thanks to y all: Esther Brownsmith (@brownsmith.bsky.social), Reinder Bruinsma, Jeremiah Coogan (@jeremiahcoogan.bsky.social), Cristian Cardozo (@criscardozomin.bsky.social),

Wayne Erasmus, Kimberly Fowler (@DrKimFowler), Stefan Höschele, Siobhán Jolley (@siobhanjolley.bsky.social ), Lydia Lijkendijk, Luca Marulli, Keisha E. McKenzie, Sarah Parkhouse@ (@sarahparkhouse.bsky.social), Shailey Patel (@vox-magica.bsky.social),

Hans Ponte, Isaac Soon (@isaacsoon.bsky.social), Janet Spittler (@janetspittler.bsky.social), Katie Turner (@drkatieturner.bsky.social), Nelske Verbaas, Taylor Weaver.

I am sure I am forgetting many more people who I should thank - by all means send me an angry message and I'll take you out to dinner to apologize. (29/35)

There are also some things and people to unthank. As a project, this work also exists despite many things. Here the Marxist words of the Salvage Editorial Collective come to mind:

Sometimes it seems hopeless, and yet, and yet. We go on, despite that. As well as that preposition - in spite of, regardless of, in the face of - the word 'despite' has an older meaning as a noun. Contempt; disdain; spite itself; an outrage committed.'

I know many who go on, even when it seems hopeless. They go on despite. Despite capitalism. Despite the state of higher education. Despite the Tories and right-wing politics. Despite homophobia and transphobia.

Despite the impending climate apocalypse. Despite precarity. Despite racism. Despite unfair labour practices. Despite discrimination. Despite it all.

I see this work as a work of spite. It exists, in spite of all these things. I hope it can also inspire others towards utopian spite. Despise these inequalities and injustices with everything you have. And if you have anything left, desire community, kinship & equity.

And then, finally, to end on a higher note, I cannot but thank Megen. I think she knows why.

Wed, 17 Jul 2024 12:28:20 GMT